IRAN and the United States continued to trade attacks on Friday as tensions within the region deepened.

Tehran threatened to widen its attacks in the region as Washington hit vital Iranian infrastructure.

US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan were targeted by the Iranians.

Jordanian air defences said they had downed at least eight missiles launched from Iran on Thursday.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said: “US forces struck Iranian command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent mariners crewing commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“Centcom used precision munitions to hit targets in multiple locations, including Bandar Abbas.”

It added: “Earlier this morning, American forces struck coastal defence and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave.

“The US military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to expand his country’s military strikes unless Iran returns to the negotiating table.

He told Fox News: “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants.

“We’re gonna knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned of obliterating all remaining infrastructure in the region if President Trump’s threats are implemented.

He insisted that under no circumstances would Tehran allow Washington, as a foreign and extra-regional power, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it Iran’s “unbreakable red line.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there were no current plans for Tehran to return to talks with the US as long as Washington continues to violate its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to which both agreed last month.

According to a Reuters report, fewer vessels travelled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day after the US reinstated its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Nine vessels crossed the strait that day, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 on Monday, according to data from shipping tracker Kpler.

Meanwhile, even though trust between the warring sides has broken down, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters on Thursday that Pakistan will continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks.